


Exposure

by ALilyPea (alilypea)



Series: Carlos Reyes Week 2021 [2]
Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: M/M, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:54:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28865850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alilypea/pseuds/ALilyPea
Summary: Carlos has bad days too, and TK figures out an inventive way to help.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Series: Carlos Reyes Week 2021 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2114865
Comments: 20
Kudos: 136
Collections: Carlos Reyes Week 2021





	Exposure

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Carlos Reyes Week 2021.
> 
> January 19 - Day 2: “I’ll always be here for you.” + romance
> 
> TW: Covid, though it's not mentioned by name. Depression. 
> 
> I said I would never write about covid, but then Carlos had feelings and so did I.
> 
> Comments and kudos are welcome :)

Carlos had days when he couldn’t keep it all together, when he couldn’t be the one who was strong or there for everyone.

He’d done it his whole life, hidden away when it got to be too much. It was beginning to edge on too much, and he’d become someone he didn’t like. He’d been snappy and easily angered. It didn’t seem to matter who it was with.

Michelle.

TK.

Paul.

Grace.

His sisters.

He knew better. With everything that had happened, he’d left himself exposed to hurt, and though the warmth he felt in his life now that his social circle and family had grown in a way he’d been unable to prepare himself for.

It left him feeling wide open, exposed, like a raw nerve, and it was no one’s fault that he felt poked at.

He wanted to be alone, but he also wanted nothing more than to be with those he loved. But he couldn’t. He was left with Facetime, Skype and Zoom. 

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Carlos rubbed his eyes and huffed out a frustrated sigh. He just needed to push it down. He heard the door open and knew it was TK; he could tell by the way he removed his shoes, two quiet thumps against the floormat, the jingle of his keys before he dropped them in the bowl.

TK didn’t say a word when he entered the bedroom, which in itself was unusual. He approached the bed and Carlos slowly. 

Carlos opened his mouth, frowning when TK lifted a finger to his lips. 

TK smiled at him and set down the bag he held in his hand; digging through it, he pulled out a t-shirt, a pair of shorts, headphones and what looked like a ridiculously soft blanket.

“What?” Carlos managed to say before TK shushed him again and moved closer.

He allowed his arms to be lifted and his shirt to be stripped from his body; standing when instructed, he found his heart lightening when he was dressed in TK’s clothes, the fabric soft against skin that still felt a little too tight. 

TK pressed a kiss high on his cheek and then on his lips before he moved away again. He fluffed out the blanket and laid it on the bed. “Lay down,” his voice was firm but soft, hardly above a whisper in the quiet of the room. 

Carlos felt silly but did as he was told, tears in his eyes as he felt how soft the blanket was and how good it smelled. Like TK, and something else that calmed his insides. He wouldn’t be surprised if it was some kind of essential oil mist or something, knowing the Strand’s penchant for alternative remedies. The tears slipped down his cheeks as TK wrapped him up, and he sniffed as his boyfriend kissed them away and very carefully pushed the headphones into his ears.

He was expecting music, but what he heard next was way better. 

“Hola mijo,” his mother’s voice was hushed, sounding just like she had when he was a kid and would fall sick far too often. It was comforting and loving, and he covered his face partly with the blanket. “Tyler tells me you have been having some bad days, and I want you to know that we all love you, and we know how hard it is. We know how strong you are, but you don’t have to be, not all the time. Mi Amado, my beautiful boy, you have blessed us all with so much.” 

“Hey, little brother,” Mariana kept her voice low, and it was probably the quietest he’d ever heard her. They’d fought over the phone last they spoke, so close to each other yet far away. He hated it; he wanted her close, so he’d pushed her away. Somehow he thought it would hurt less. “I’m sorry for being so hard on you. I’m so proud of you. We love you so much. You are in our prayers, and I’m glad someone is taking such good care of you, just like you take care of everyone else.”

“We love you, Tio Carlos!” A chorus of voices came next, and Carlos was aware of the bed sinking in on the other side of him as TK lay down and wrapped himself around him, spooning him. He couldn’t help himself.

He wept. And it hurt, every movement hurt, and his grief at being unable to see his family, at being unable to be a part of the world tore at him, and TK held him together through it all. 

“Hey, man,” Paul’s voice was wry, and Carlos swept at his cheeks, and listened closely. “It doesn’t take someone with my talents to figure out you’re not yourself. None of us are. But you’re family. I appreciate you, my first non-firefighter friend.”

“Thank you for letting us into your home,” Marjan spoke softly, her voice filled with warmth and then slightly teasing. “My brother from another mother.” 

“Thank you for giving us a place to be safe,” Mateo’s voice was more hesitant. “I’m sorry we didn’t see it all sooner.” 

“You deserve happiness,” Grace insisted, her honeyed tones bringing tears to his eyes again. 

“Thank you for all that you do,” Owen’s words surprised him. “Thank you for being you.”

“Carlos, let TK take care of you for once,” Michelle was firm but no less loving. “You deserve it.” 

“Carino,” God TK needed to work on his accent. He sniffled and rubbed at his face with the blanket. “You are everything to so many people; never doubt that you are loved and cared for, that you deserve to be loved and cared for. I’ll always be there for you.” 

Carlos coughed and rolled over, facing TK; he knew he looked a mess. He’d never been a good cryer; his throat hurt, his eyes were puffy, and his face ached a little bit along with his shoulders. “I’ll always be here for you too.”

“I know,” TK smiled, keeping his voice low. “But right now, I want you just to let me take care of you. Paul is going to drop off dinner tonight, but he’s not staying. I have bubble bath for later, along with massage oil. Mateo, Marjan and Paul are going to hang out somewhere else tomorrow, and I can go home whenever you want me to.”

Carlos shook his head. “Dinner together tonight, you and I, bubble bath and a massage sounds good. But tomorrow, they can come over for two hours, and I want to give you a drawer.”

TK beamed at him and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Excellent, let me get something to clean you up with, and we can have a nap.” He got off the bed and left the room. By the time he returned, Carlos had restarted the messages on TK’s phone and was fast asleep.


End file.
